Blood Slaughterer
]] The Blood Slaughterer, also known as the Blood Slaughterer of Khorne, is a large, gore-splattered Daemon Engine made of brass and black iron that is dedicated to the service of the Chaos God Khorne. The Blood Slaughterer is a Daemon Engine, a possessed war machine created with the single purpose of wreaking carnage on the enemy with unnatural Warp-spawned resilience and power. The Blood Slaughterer is one of the most recent incarnations of the ancient Slaughterer Daemon Engine variety that has been encountered by the Imperium since the Horus Heresy. The Blood Slaughterer is a savage and near uncontrollable Daemon Engine, as during battle it rends and kills with such indiscriminate fury that the Warp-spawned forces that empower the armoured chassis of the beast must lay empty and dormant between battles, or the daemonic monster will slaughter its own allies, as the Blood Slaughterer does not care who it kills, so long as bodies are torn asunder in Khorne's name. The empty chassis is brought back to unholy life by gore-filled rituals on the eve of conflict, and only then can the burning runes and cold iron fetters that bind the daemonic warp energies be loosed and the creature unleashed to slay and sow havoc in the Blood God's name. History Guardians of the Saim-Hann Craftworld.]] Although knowledge of the Blood Slaughterer has been long suppressed and purged from most historical accounts by the Inquisition, there remain records of these monstrosities that can be found deep within the sealed archives of the Grey Knights on Titan and in the sacred canticles of the Adeptus Astartes. The Blood Slaughterer, recorded justly as the "slaughtering engines of Khorne," ranked among the most terrible enemies the Imperium can face on the battlefield. The first true Slaughterers were encountered during the Horus Heresy by the Loyalist Space Marine Legions, and were thought to be a savage outgrowth of the more common Dreadnought walkers used by the Legions. The first Slaughterers were known as Berzerker Dreadnoughts for this reason and were optimised for close combat assaults and as line breaking units. These were modified from standard patterns to be larger and swifter than their more common counterparts, and employed near suicidal charges into the heart of enemy lines. Their use by the World Eaters Legion is stated in some apocryphal sources in fact to pre-date the Heresy itself in some form, and such was the savage reputation of this Legion even before its fall this may likely have been true. In the 41st Millennium In the millennia that followed the Horus Heresy, war machines identified or reported under the designation "Slaughterer," showing a wide variety in size, configuration, and power if not role, were encountered in many different war zones, most near the Eye of Terror. There have also been sightings of the beasts during the fall of the Sabbat Worlds to the forces of Chaos and as far away as the southern galactic fringe uprisings. It was not, however, until the First War for Armageddon in 499.M41 that the Slaughterer was seen again in great numbers. In this nightmarish conflict, the most ancient and feared dread enemy of Mankind, the Daemon Primarch Angron, led his forces in an attack on the vital Hive World of Armageddon. For the first time since the Horus Heresy, the Slaughterer, now reincarnated in a dark fusion of technology and the touch of the Blood God, crashed in unstoppable waves against the beleaguered defenders of the world, bellowing horrific war cries as they slaughtered their way across the planet. They ripped through anything, flesh or steel that opposed them, savage and berserk, drowning the streets of Armageddon's hive cities in a red tide of butchery and death. Since that first dark conflict on Armageddon the Slaughterer Daemon Engine, appearing in several now recognised variants, has been encountered once more in ever increasing numbers, particularly in the hands of the World Eaters and their fractious successors. One of the latest sightings, during the Siege of Vraks, saw the deployment of the so-called "Blood Slaughterer," a scuttling multi-legged walker variant adorned with a profusion of barbs, cutting instruments, and ripping Chain Weapons. .]] The Blood Slaughterer was perhaps the second-most numerous form of Daemon Engine encountered during the entire conflict, only after the much more common Defiler. During the conflict the Blood Slaughterer was unleashed on the battlefield as an extremely effective shock assault unit. It is surmised by the savants of the Ordo Malleus that Blood Slaughterers are constructed, or otherwise called into being, by the artifice of the Dark Magi of the Hell-Forge of Sarum -- the source of the legend of the Killing Star. They bear a clear resemblance to the greater Brass Scorpions of Khorne, yet Inquisitors and savants know not to rely on mere appearance when attempting to comprehend anything about the workings of Chaos. Brass Scorpions are almost certainly higher-order daemons of Khorne given physical, albeit mechanical, form by the rituals of the Dark Magi. Blood Slaughterers, however, appear to be machines constructed for the purpose of binding a daemon inside their shell. Unlike the Brass Scorpion, the body of the Blood Slaughterer has also been observed to mount a containment vessel thought to contain the bound essence of a daemon of the Warp. Variants The Blood Slaughterer has several known variants, which include: *'Slaughterer' - The Slaughterer is the original "slaughtering engine of Khorne", dating back to the time of the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium. The Slaughterer was encountered in a myriad of shapes and configurations, from Berzerker Chaos Dreadnoughts to wheeled beasts armed with a variety of weapons such as Heavy Bolters and a Lash of Khorne. These ancient variants are rarely encountered in the late 41st Millennium, as the more common Blood Slaughterer has taken its place. *'Blood Slaughterer Impaler' - The Blood Slaughterer Impaler is a minor variant of the Blood Slaughterer that replaces one of its Dreadnought Close Combat Weapons with a massive, daemonically-possessed barbed harpoon weapon known as an Impaler that the creature can fire at enemy infantry and light vehicles to drag them closer to the beast, so that it can finish them off with its other weapons. *'Butcher Engine' - The Butcher Engine is a rarer variant of the Blood Slaughterer. The Butcher Engine is exactly the same in appearance to the standard Blood Slaughterer, the only difference being the daemon inhabiting the creature's armoured chassis. The Butcher Engine is bound to a more powerful daemonic spirit than normal, one that is able to exert some control over other Blood Slaughterers, and is used to lead them into battle, and urge them on to ever greater amounts of carnage. Armament attacking a Feral World Imperial Guard trooper.]] The Blood Slaughterer walks on four sets of dual-bladed limbs, each containing built-in Chain Weapons. These legs are fully capable of tearing infantry apart as well as giving the beast great speed and agility, even possessing the ability to climb up near-vertical surfaces. The creature also has a set of primary limbs, where its main weapons are attached. The Blood Slaughterer is normally equipped with two Dreadnought Close Combat Weapons that take the form of giant Power Cleavers. The Blood Slaughterer can also have one of its Power Cleavers replaced with an Impaler, a massive, daemonically-possessed barbed harpoon weapon that the creature can fire at enemy infantry and light vehicles to drag them closer to the beast, so that it can finish them off with its other weapons. The Impaler is only capable of dragging units and vehicles that are no bigger than the Blood Slaughterer itself. Blood Slaughterers armed with an Impaler are designated as Blood Slaughterer Impalers. The Blood Slaughterer operates in groups of three, and are guided into battle by a Butcher Engine, a Blood Slaughterer that has drenched in the gore of a thousand victims and within its thrice-warded binding a savage daemon of dreadful power and will lurks. Only the potent willpower of such a potent entity can master its fellows, directing them into battle and urging them on to ever greater amounts of slaughter. Ordo Malleus Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications See Also *'Chaos Vehicles' Sources *''Black Crusade: The Tome of Blood'' (RPG), pp. 116-117 *''Imperial Armour Volume Seven - The Siege of Vraks - Part Three'', pp. 34, 154-156, 211 *''Imperial Armour Apocalypse II'', pg. 64 *''Imperial Armour Volume Thirteen - War Machines of the Lost & The Damned by Andy Hoare with Alan Bligh & Neil Wylie, pp. 121-123'' *''Only War: Core Rulebook'' (RPG), pg. 354 *''White Dwarf'' 153 (UK), "The World Eaters: Chaos Space Marines - The Blood Slaughterer: Daemonic Robot of Khorne," pp. 4-10 *''Forge World Webstore: Blood Slaughterer'' *''Forge World Webstore: Blood Slaughterer Impaler'' Gallery BloodSlaughterer00.png|A Blood Slaughterer of Khorne belonging to the Skulltakers warband BloodSlaughterer01.png|A Blood Slaughterer of Khorne belonging to an unknown Chaos Space Marine warband BloodSlaughterer04.jpg|A Blood Slaughterer of Khorne armed with twin Power Cleavers, front-side view BloodSlaughterer05.jpg|A Blood Slaughterer of Khorne, rear view BloodSlaughterer07.jpg|A Blood Slaughterer of Khorne armed with twin Power Cleavers, dorsal view BloodSlaughterer06.jpg|A Blood Slaughterer of Khorne near a Chaos Dreadnought and a Chaos Space Marine for size comparison BloodSlaughtererImpaler00.jpg|A Blood Slaughterer Impaler armed with a Power Cleaver and an Impaler, front-side view BloodSlaughtererImpaler01.jpg|A Blood Slaughterer Impaler armed with a Power Cleaver and an Impaler, side view BloodSlaughtererImpaler02.jpg|A Blood Slaughterer Impaler armed with a Power Cleaver and an Impaler, rear-dorsal view es:Masacrador Sangriento Category:B Category:Chaos Category:Chaos Space Marines Category:Chaos Vehicles Category:Chaos Technology Category:Chaos Walkers Category:Vehicles Category:Walkers Category:Daemons Category:Daemon Engines